Riding toy



Jan. 12, 1960 w. B. KEELING RIDING TOY Filed June 15, 1956 Fig 2 Wilmer B. Keeling IN VEN TOR.

BY WW fi ang .ufl wd ta s Pa RIDING TOY Wilmer I3. Keeling, Keysville, Va. Application :lune'15, 1956, Serial No. 591,646 2 'Claims. C1. Zia-+33 The present invention generally relates to a toy and more specifically to that type of toy which is ridden by a small child whereby the type and direction of ride or movement may be directly controlled by the movement of the childs muscles or by shifting of the weight thereby providing a highly entertaining toy and also one which develops muscles and the coordination of movements and muscles.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a riding toy which will develop the muscular coordination of a child and still provide a highly entertaining toy which incorporates a universal movable upstanding member mounted centrally within a cylindrical member at the bottom thereof wherein the upper edges of the cylindrical member will confine or limit the movement of the upstanding member as determined by an occupant positioned on a seat adjacent the upper end of the upstanding member.

Other objects of the present invention reside in its simplicity of construction, entertaining features, muscular and coordination development features, adaptations for its particular purposes and its relatively inexpensive manufacturing cost.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of the riding toy of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 22 of Figure 1 illustrating the details of construction thereof; and

Figure 3 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 of Figure 2 illustrating the details of construction of the foot rest members.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generally designates the riding toy of the present invention including an enlarged generally square base member 12 having a cylindrical member generally designated by the numeral 14 mounted thereon. The cylindrical member 14 includes a bottom 16 and a peripheral cylindrical wall 18 upstanding therefrom. The bottom 16 is rigidly secured to the base plate 12 by fastening bolts 20 which are countersunk into the base plate 12 so that the base plate 12 may set upon a smooth surface without damage thereto and which will permit sliding movement of the base plate 12. A plurality of braces 22 interconnect the upper surface of the base plate 12 and the cylindrical Wall adjacent the upper end thereof. The braces 22 are secured by fastening bolts 24 which are similar to the bolts 20. The base plate 12 and the cylindrical member 14 form a rigid integral unit.

The upper edge of the cylindrical wall 18 is provided- 2,920,889 7 I Patented Jan. '12, 1960 2 with an inward extending peripheral flange 26 terminating in an upwardly and outwardly inclined surface 28.

Secured centrally within the cylindrical member 14 and rigidly attached to the upper surface of the bottom 16 is a 'spiral coil spring 30 secured to the bottom '16 as by welding 32 or the like. The upper end of the spring 30 is provided with a mounting plate 34 having a securf ing, plate 36 disposed thereon for receiving a spherical ball member 38 on the lower "end of an elongated uplstanding member 40 whereby the "upstandingjmemb'er 40 may pivot universally in relation to the spring 30 and the bottom 16 of the cylindrical member 14. A wear sleeve 42 is disposed on the upstanding member 40 for engagement with the inclined surface 28 thereby forming a wear point of reduced frictional resistance to permit swinging movement of the upstanding member 40 as defined by the limits of the inclined surface 28. Taking the center of the ball 38 as a center, it will be noted that the surface 28 forms substantially a continuation of the conical surface with the center of the ball 38 and its apex whereby a surface to surface contact will exist between the surface 28 and the bearing sleeve 42. The upstanding member 40 has a cross-sectional area of less than one-half of the cross-sectional area of the opening defined by the inclined surface 28.

At the upper end of the upstanding member which terminates in a vertical portion 44, there is provided a transverse rod 46 forming a pair of hand grips. Disposed below the transverse rod 46 is a laterally extending bracket 48 having a seat 50 mounted thereon. Disposed below the bracket 48 is a bracket 52 extending to both sides of the upstanding member 40 for supporting a pair of transverse rods 54 and 56, each of which forms a pair of footrests for the occupant positioned on the seat 50.

- In using the invention, the occupant shifts his weight thereby causing the upstanding member 40 to swivel or swing about the central point of the ball 38 thereby forming a riding toy in which the movement of the rider may be controlled by shifting of the riders weight. The spring 30 permits vertical movement and general resiliency in the rod thereby further enhancing the qualities of the riding toy.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A riding toy comprising a vertically disposed cylindrical member, a bottom in said cylindrical member, an upwardly extending member supported from said bottom for universal swinging movement, the upper edge of the cylindrical member engaging and limiting the swinging movement of the upwardly extending member, and a seat mounted on said upstanding member whereby the movement of the upstanding member may be controlled by the occupant of the seat shifting his weight, said upwardly extending member terminating in a bill member at its lower end, a socket receiving said ball memher, and a coil spring for mounting said socket on the bottom of said cylindrical member for resiliently limiting bodily movement of the ball member on said upwardly extending member.

2. An occupant propelled riding toy comprising a rigid base plate, a horizontally disposed annular flange supported rigidly in parallel spaced relation above the base plate with the inner edge of the flange forming an enlarged opening, an elongated rigid standard extending I freely through the opening defined by the flange and having a cross-sectional area of less than one-half of the cross-sectional area of the opening thereby permitting movement of the standard freely in relation toth'e'opening, r neans universally connecting the lower'e'nd of said standard to said base at a point below the plane of the flange and generally in alignment with the center of the opening whereby the standard may generate aninverted cone'when moved along the periphery of the opening with the connection of the standard to the base plate permitting the standard to' move laterally across the opening, and seat means mounted on the standard above the flange whereby an occupant may shift the standard by 15 shifting his weight while on the seat means, said means 4 connecting the lower end of the standard to the base plate including resilient cushioning means for cushioning the shock caused by impact of the standard against the flange during swinging movement of the standard.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 953,119 Bramkamp Mar. 29, 1910 1,283,210 Kinney Oct. 29, 1918 1,690,590 Molby Nov. 6, 1928 2,441,401 Eckstein May 11, 1948 2,746,754 Martel May 22, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 543,921 France June 12, 1922 

